The Corum adventure started in 1955, in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. When the
co-founders of the company, Simone Ries and René Bannwart, joined Gaston Ries'
watchmaking workshops, they knew that their new firm would benefit from this
solid experience. Their alliance quickly established creativity and traditional
craftsmanship as the order of the day.

Shortly thereafter, the company
carved out a significant niche for itself, one that remains theirs alone to this
day, with a classic model that quickly became an international best-seller: the
$20 Liberty Eagle watch, which is made from a genuine U.S. $20 gold piece. In
the Corum workshops, genuine mint-state Liberty eagle ($10) and double eagle
($20) coins are carefully cut in half, and in between the obverse and reverse of
the coin, a high-quality movement is carefully inserted. Although other
companies had made this style of watch since the 1920's, it was always as dress
pocket watches. Corum's breakthrough was making it as a wristwatch.

It
would be a bit misleading, however, to say that such a procedure can be
accomplished like clockwork, for in reality, completing a Corum gold coin watch
requires numerous steps and many painstaking hours of meticulous hand-finishing.
In fact, machining the inside of the case, so that a movement can be fitted, can
in and of itself take several hours of patient work.

Today, Corum can be
justly proud of the fact that it has one of the richest collections in its
field. Corum watches are immediately recognizable as such, and although a few of
the movements are based on ebauches, these ebauches are often reworked by
Corum's in-house watchmakers. A vast range of original designs, which with their
infinite variety, define the Corum style - always in the forefront of time. From
the "Golden Bridge" to the "Limelight", "Coin Watch", "Romulus" and "Admiral's
Cup", Corum's products reveal a progressive attitude that is quite rare in
today's watchmaking world. Rather than merely resting on its laurels, hoping to
maintain the value of its tradition, at the cost of new ideas, Corum continually
debuts new designs. Their attitude might best be summed up as follows: "To
create is to construct, and to construct is to live".

This motto has
become the keynote of Corum's policy. True creation cannot be compared to merely
re-inventing old models that have proved reliable in the past. Time moves on,
each second thrusts us onwards into the future, and it is a mistake to claim to
have mastered time without having the courage to move forward constantly...to
offer the wearer a watch that reflects his or her own vitality.

To mark
its 40th anniversary Corum commissioned a new design center which is interesting
for a number of reasons: it is tangible evidence of the company's policy of
continuous innovation and it is the product of an architectural competition. The
idea of this competition is once again a reflection of the pioneering spirit
that was important to the company's founders in the early days.

Guided
by its own enthusiasm, this young company has made great efforts to establish a
reputation to match it ambition. The results speak for themselves: a very
effective publicity campaign and successful sponsorship program demonstrate
Corum's desire to be at the helm and not in the wake.

Since December of
1998, Corum has been jointly owned by the Bannwart family and the Al Fardan
Group in Doha, Qatar. Following several months of negotiations, American
businessman Severin Wunderman, a well-known figure in the watch industry, has
personally acquired a majority interest in the company rather than through his
company, Severin Montres, Ltd., "Because I want to be personally involved with
the firm. I intend to maintain the current personnel in their positions, from
management to production, and to capitalize on the rich traditions that have
made the reputation of Corum throughout the world", he stated.

In the
meantime, the master watchmakers at La-Chaux-de-Fonds continue to produce the
magnificent timepieces - including such masterpieces as the Minute Repeater and
Minute Repeater/Tourbillon - for which they are rightly famous. And they do so
in an environment which rewards creativity and treasures craftsmanship - a
perfect marriage of tradition and progressive thinking.

Please
remember that this is not an official guide as to
the history of this company and thus may not be
100% accurate by all accounts, if you do see any
errors then please do not hesitiate to email
the webmaster.